PAR News - Fri, 20th Jan 2023

20/01/23 - Flour Prices, Textile Exports Decline, Farm Mechanization Loans, Karachi LG Elections

PAR News - Fri, 20th Jan 2023
PAR News - Fri, 20th Jan 2023
PAR News
January 26, 2023
News

TOPLINE

  • Retailers continue fleecing flour consumers by charging higher prices for different varieties due to the Sindh government’s weak regulatory mechanism.
  • The country’s textile exports declined by around 7.07% during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2022-23 and remained at $8.717 billion as compared to $9.381 billion last year.
  • SBP Deputy Governor said commercial banks will soon start disbursing Rs 56 billion for farm mechanization as discussed in a meeting of the committee formed by the PM. The State Bank looks set to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 17% at its review on Monday as it struggles to rein in persistently high inflation.
  • PPP has renewed its offer of an alliance with JI in the upcoming mayoral election, while Imran Khan warned that the country could slide into a Sri Lanka-like situation if “free and fair” elections were not held by the government.
  • The government requested the IMF to send its mission to Pakistan at the earliest, to conclude a long-awaited agreement to revive the loan programme.
  • President Volodymyr Zelensky heaped pressure on Western allies to provide Kyiv with more heavy weapons to fight Russia.
  • The sudden dismantling of China’s Covid Zero restrictions means hundreds of millions of people are heading home for the Lunar New Year for the first time since 2019. The mass migration risks spreading the virus to every corner of the country.
  • The US government hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit on Thursday, amid a standoff between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and President Joe Biden’s Democrats that could lead to a fiscal crisis in a few months.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

  • Wheat Production: 80% per acre increase in wheat production can be achieved by improving farm management. [ET]
  • Flour Prices: Despite a substantial cut in mill rates, retailers continue fleecing flour consumers by charging higher prices for different varieties due to the Sindh government’s weak regulatory mechanism. [Dawn] [ET]
  • Import of Tea: Rs 15.9 billion was the import value of tea in Dec 2022, up 57% compared to Rs 10.1 billion in Dec 2021, according to the PBS. [ET]
  • Rice Export: Rs 11.5 billion was the export value of Basmati rice in Dec 2022, up 32% compared to Rs 8.7 billion in Dec 2021, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. [ET]
  • Textile Group Exports: The country’s textile group exports declined by around 7.07 % during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2022-23 and remained at $8.717 billion as compared to $9.381 billion during the same period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. [BR] [Dawn]
  • Sugar Scam: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday quizzed Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, about money laundering charges amounting to Rs 16 billion in the sugar scam case. [Dawn]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

  • Heavy Snowfall Forecast: The Punjab administration has been put on high alert in light of a forecast by the Met Office that heavy snowfall, which will start over the weekend, may disrupt routine life and result in roads closure in Murree and other parts of the country. Karachi remained cold and windy throughout the day with the minimum temperature recorded at 9.5 degree Celsius on Thursday. [Dawn] [ET]
  • Farm Mechanization: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Seema Kamil has said commercial banks will soon start disbursing Rs56 billion for farm mechanization. It was discussed in a meeting of the committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to improve the production of agriculture. [ET] [RP]
  • Power Generation Dropped: Energy consumption continues to witness a consecutive decline, as major consumers – like factories – have closed shop amid a high financial crisis in wake of depleting foreign exchange reserves. [ET]
  • Thar Coal: Pakistan’s energy sector is at a critical juncture as oil, petroleum, gas, and mining industries face major challenges due to import restrictions and banks refusing to open Letters of Credit (LCs). [ET]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

  • LG Polls Results: After days of tension caused by allegations and counter-allegations by three major political parties over the results of the Jan 15 local government elections in Karachi, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday renewed its offer of an alliance with Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) in the upcoming mayoral election. [Dawn]
  • Fair Elections: As Pakistan faces myriad challenges like skyrocketing inflation, unemployment, depleting foreign exchange reserves and shortage of essential commodities, PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday warned that the country could slide into a Sri Lanka-like situation if “free and fair” elections were not held by the incumbent regime. [ET]
  • PTI Resignations: Sitting scheduled to be held today was put off for a week, with no reason given by the speaker. Fawad accuses Ashraf of trying to derail their return to parliament, and says party delegation will meet him anyway. The Speaker defends the decision to accept resignations, says he is criticized no matter what he does. [Dawn]
  • IMF Talks: Conveying its willingness to accept all the four major conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government on Thursday requested the lender to send its mission to Pakistan at the earliest, preferably next week, to conclude a long-awaited agreement to revive the loan programme. [Dawn] [ET]
  • Illegal Forex Dealers: In a crackdown against currency smugglers and ‘hundi’ and ‘hawala’ dealers, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested eight people from various parts of the provincial capital and recovered huge amounts of foreign currency. [ET]
  • Interest Rate Hike: State Bank looks set to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 17% at its review on Monday as it struggles to rein in persistently high inflation, according to the median estimate in a Reuters poll. [BR]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

  • Chinese New Year & COVID: China reported a large jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations in the week through to January 15 to the highest since the pandemic began, according to a weekly report published by the World Health Organization on Thursday. The sudden dismantling of China’s Covid Zero restrictions means hundreds of millions of people are heading home for the Lunar New Year for the first time since 2019. The mass migration risks spreading the virus to every corner of the country — exposing loved ones living in rural areas that have managed to evade it so far. That could spark a Covid catastrophe, even as the country’s virus czar says infections have fallen to a “relatively low” level. As if Covid weren’t enough, Xi Jinping now finds himself facing a new threat — protesters emboldened to speak out after wins on removing pandemic restrictions and reversing firework bans. [ET] [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg]
  • US Govt Borrowing Limit: The US government hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit on Thursday, amid a standoff between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and President Joe Biden’s Democrats that could lead to a fiscal crisis in a few months. [BR]
  • Indian Rice Prices: Indian rice export prices rose to their highest levels since April 2021 this week boosted by limited supplies and a stronger rupee. Top exporter India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $387-$395 per tonne this week, up from last week’s $375-$382 per tonne. White rice prices rose to $435-$440 per tonne from $398-$405 per tonne a week ago. [BR]
  • Ukraine War Updates: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday heaped pressure on Western allies to provide Kyiv with more heavy weapons to fight Russia on the eve of a key donor meeting. [ET] [The Nation]
  • New Zealand PM Resignation: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a global figurehead of progressive politics, shocked the country Thursday by announcing she would resign from office in a matter of weeks. [BR] [ET]
  • Cross-Border Attack: The Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday to lodge the formal protest over an attack on the Pakistani security forces from across the border in Balochistan in a rare move, suggesting friction between the two countries. [BR] [ET] [The News]
  • Pak-Russia Bilateral Ties: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received a special message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who views Pakistan as Russia’s key partner in South Asia and the Islamic world, reiterating his country’s keen interest in deepening bilateral relationship as well as increasing trade and investment between the two sides. [ET] [Siasat]
  • Saudi-Israel Ties: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia in talks with visiting White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday, his office said. [ET] [Geo]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

  • Excise Department’s Faulty E-Pay System Adds to Citizens’ Woes. [ET]
  • Opinion: Wheat Crisis - “The current wheat flour crisis is multidimensional requiring a combination of short-term, medium-term, and long-term policies. The federal government should develop and update the mechanisms for provincial crops reporting data at the provincial levels so that accurate and relevant information can be available for anticipated consumption to keep a balance between demand and supply.” - By Huzaima Bukhari, Dr Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori [BR]
  • Opinion: Cost of Pollution? - “Over the last seven months or so, our daughter has been unwell a number of times. The usual symptoms have been high fever and a cough. A couple of times the fever and cough went away after a week with only cough syrups and anti-fever medicines, but a few times she had to go through a course of antibiotics before she started to get better. The cough seems to linger on longer. She has also been on anti-allergy medications for extended periods over this time.” - By Faisal Bari [Dawn]
  • Opinion: Financing Pakistan’s ‘Loss & Damage’ - “Pakistan’s policymakers and politicians are patting themselves on their backs for having raised $9 billion — $1 billion more than what they had requested at the international donor conference in Geneva. This funding appeal was meant to secure desperately needed support to enable Pakistan to recover from last year’s devastating floods.” - By Syed Mohammad Ali [ET]


PAR News - Fri, 20th Jan 2023

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